


Hurt

by emirain



Category: The Book of Mormon - Ambiguous Fandom, The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: (he's really a mom sshhh), Cuddles, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, but still adorable, connor is stern dad, hurt arnold, it's more likely than you think, kevin is a good companion?? In MY fandom??, minor cuts/bruises but like very little description, poptarts is a snitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 21:24:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11929569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emirain/pseuds/emirain
Summary: In which Arnold gets hurt and Kevin is worried and the beds really aren't that far apart.





	Hurt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts), [eldercunningbro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eldercunningbro/gifts).



Kevin looked up as he heard the door close. He'd been sitting on the couch for hours in silence, so the noise of a door creaking open and shut was very easy to notice.

"Arnold!" He exclaimed as he saw who had arrived. He rushed to his feet and hurried to his companion's side.

"Oh! Hey buddy," Arnold replied with a nervous laugh, dragging out the greeting. It was clear he'd been hoping to sneak in, but after his prolonged absence, he should've known his companion wouldn't allow it. Kevin embraced him tightly and he froze up a little.

"Are you okay?" Kevin asked once he pulled away. His voice was heavy with worry, face twisted in concern. 

"Yes!" The younger squeaked, then cleared his throat. "Of course I'm fine. Gonna go to our room."

"Hey," Kevin protested, still concerned. He put his hands on Arnold's shoulders, preventing Arnold from walking further. "Hold on a minute, you were gone for hours! It's almost ten, elder."

Upon receiving a small smile and shrug from Arnold, Kevin continued, "Where were you?"

"Just um," Elder Cunningham looked down nervously, "Preaching. I was preaching."

"Where?"

"Y'know. The village." Arnold shrugged Kevin's hands off of him and began walking to their room again.

"Elder!" Kevin called, then switched to a whisper upon realizing the other elders were sleeping. "We looked for you, all day! We even asked around the village, nobody knew where you were."

Arnold felt his stomach drop with fear as he heard Elder Price's footsteps following him. He quickly turned the knob and entered their room, hoping Kevin would drop it.

"Arnold," Kevin reprimanded, following, "You don't have to lie to me. I spent all day worrying about you, don't I deserve the truth?"

Elder Cunningham huffed and slumped down onto his bed, keeping his arm hidden behind him. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You already broke two mission rules today, and now you want to break a third?" Kevin questioned, knowing how much the rules meant to Arnold.

Cunningham thought for a moment. He already knew that he'd left his companion and stayed out past curfew, and their district leader would probably kill him even more for skipping out on talking before bed.

"You don't wanna break rule fifteen, do you?" Kevin prompted, sitting on the edge of his own bed. "Mission companions are supposed to talk about their feelings before bed." 

"Fine!" Arnold cried, "But I only have to tell you how I'm feeling."

The older man grunted in frustration.

"That's what the rule says." Arnold defended. 

"What about what your mission companion says?"

Arnold turned his head to stick out his tongue, then rolled onto his stomach, still careful to hide his wounded arm. "Do you want me to go first?"

Kevin nodded.

Another huff from Arnold before complying. "I feel like an idiot."

Normally Kevin would launch into an encouraging speech to convince Arnold otherwise, but with his companion's recent actions, he was happy not to. Instead, he merely asked, "Why's that?"

"Because I always do stupid things and then I can't get myself out of them. I also feel really, really stupid because I tried-- agh!" Arnold drew in a sharp breath suddenly. 

Kevin turned to see him wincing in pain, then quickly sat up.

"Arnold!" Kevin exclaimed, hopping the short distance between them. "What happened to your arm?"

"Nothing," The younger missionary replied quickly. He stood from his bed in an attempt to distance himself. "Nothing happened!" He tried with a smile.

Elder Price looked overwhelmingly unconvinced. He grabbed Arnold's injured arm gingerly, then looked up with concern.

"Does it hurt?" He asked sympathetically. "Are you okay? Why didn't you say something to--"

"I'm fine!" Arnold insisted loudly, almost angrily, as he yanked his arm back. 

A few moments of silence passed, Kevin blinking in shock. Arnold glanced away, looking personally offended.

"It's _nothing_!" Arnold added, much louder than he meant to.

"Arnold." Kevin hissed in an angry whisper. "If you keep yelling, you're going to wake the others up and then _everyone_ is going to know."

Arnopd looked upset with the threat, but knew it was true and sighed reluctantly. "It's none of your business." He said in a quiet voice.

"You're hurt!" Kevin argued softly, gesturing to the dark blue bruises and small, still bleeding scratches running along his companion's forearm.

"It'll be fine," Arnold mumbled, biting back tears from the combination of nagging pain and embarrassment. He shuffled back a few steps, but their room really was small and it became inconvenient in these situations.

Kevin frowned. "No, come sit down. I'm gonna get the first aid kit."

"No," The younger man snapped stubbornly, starting to make his way towards the exit of their bedroom.

His mission companion, however, stopped him almost immediately by getting directly in front of him and gripping his shoulders. Gosh, Kevin was strong.

Arnold grunted and gave Kevin a shove, but only took a few steps more before Kevin was in front of him again.

"Arnold Cunningham." Kevin glared at him sternly.

The shorter man glared back up defiantly for a moment, before something shifted in his expression. Kevin wasn't the arrogant, self-centered teenager he'd been when the two first met. He actually cared about Arnold, was trying to help, and Arnold probably wasn't making it easier on him by resisting it. 

Though Arnold certainly didn't want his companion to see him hurt like this (especially since he admired Kevin so much), his arm wasn't going to get better by being prideful. 

Humbleness was a virtue of a good mormon, even if that meant being embarassed.

"Go sit down." Elder Price repeated.

Arnold looked down unhappily, but obeyed and sat down on his bed. "I didn't want you to see it."

Kevin was already halfway out the door when he heard Arnold's words. He stopped in his place. "Why not? You don't ever have to hide things from me, Elder Cunningham."

"I know." The shorter boy responded, then looked away, ashamed. He tried not to start emotionally rambling, but he found himself helpless. "It's just...if I wasn't being stupid I never would've gotten this in the first place." He bit his lip, trying to stop the next words from coming out except he couldn't. "A-and you never get hurt, elder! I didn't want you to see me all stupid and hurt, be-because now you're gonna think I'm some big baby--"

"Arnold," Kevin interrupted. He sat down beside his companion and placed a hand over Arnold's. "You're not a baby for crying."

Arnold must have not realized he was doing so, because he brought a hand to his wet cheeks and winced in embarrassment.

"Hey," Kevin grasped Arnold's hand with his free one and pulled it down to the one he was already holding. "That's a really nasty looking wound, and I think you're really brave for handling it."

"I'm not handling it." Arnold sniffled, "I'm crying...I can't believe I'm crying in front of you."

"I know I would be crying a lot harder than you are now if we traded places." Kevin replied.

His companion looked up sadly, wiping away a tear. God, Kevin was actually _lying_ to make him feel better. That was pathetic. "You never cry, Kevin,"

"Yeah I do," Kevin said gently, pulling his hands away with a self-pitying smile. "Especially when people see me hurt. And especially when I get hurt. You should've seen me back when the General--" Kevin's smile flickered and he cleared his throat, as though remembering something unpleasant. "Ah- never mind. My point is that you are being a lot braver than you think and there's no reason to feel embarrassed."

Arnold still looked doubtful, but managed a familiar affectionate smile for the first time that night. Kevin was the type of person that could say something that made no sense at all and convince you with his smile alone. "Well, I guess I should trust my mission companion."

"Yeah, you should." Kevin returned the smile, patted Arnold on the back, then once again stood.

His eyes flicked over Arnold, trying to see if he'd actually comforted his friend or if it was a facade.

Arnold wasn't looking back up at him to see if he was convincing enough, which meant there wasn't any pretending tied to his smile.

Kevin smiled and began to make his way out the door. "I'll be back in a second."

As Kevin's footsteps faded away, new ones could almost immediately be heard traveling down the hallway.

 _Shoot_ , Arnold thought, _we woke someone up_.

Sure enough, a few moments later, Elder Thomas's head poked into the room.

"Elder Price?" He slurred sleepily, then rubbed at his eyes. Arnold bit his lip and stayed quiet. He was really hoping to avoid the others until morning. However, Poptarts must've come to his senses because his eyes immediately went wide and he rushed over to Arnold. 

"You-- Elder Cunningham!" He exclaimed joyfully, tackling his fellow elder into a hug.

Arnold was nearly pinned to the bed by him, but luckily his injured arm was left out of it, so he chuckled and patted Poptarts's head gratefully.

"Where on earth were you, Elder?" Poptarts asked, squeezing Arnold before pulling back with worried eyes. "Are you alright? Did you tell Kev--er, Elder Price yet?"

Said missionary stepped into the room not a moment after the question was asked. He held gauze, a tiny bottle, and a small tube of something in his arms.

"Elder Price!" Poptarts eagerly greeted, sleepy demeanor gone. "Look who's back!"

Kevin glanced between Arnold and Poptarts hesitantly before grinning. "I noticed. Hey, um, you don't mind, do you?"

It took Poptarts a moment, before uttering "oh!" And sliding onto the floor so the two companions had room to sit.

Kevin set his supplies down on the bed between him and Arnold, ready to get to work. 

Elder Cunningham smiled weakly at him, his eyes still a little watery.

However, the moment Kevin gently lifted Arnold's bruised arm, a cry of surprise was heard from the youngest elder in their room.

"Arnold!" Poptarts nearly squealed as he jumped up, "What happened to you?"

Price and Cunningham both looked at each other, neither wanting to speak. Kevin had clearly wanted to ask himself, but the issue for now was saying something that would get Poptarts off their backs.

"Well, I...I uh," Arnold stuttered a little, caught off-guard. He still hadn't revealed the cause behind his injury yet, to anyone, and wasn't sure he wanted to in front of Poptarts.

Poptarts was great and everyone loved him, of course, but Poptarts was also McKinley's companion. And seventeen. Which meant he told McKinley everything, and Arnold didn't need a tattletale outing him just yet.

"Actually," Price offered with his charming smile he used when going door to door, "Elder Cunningham just came back from preaching in the next village over."

"W-what? Really?" Poptarts eyes went wide.

"Yep!" Arnold agreed quickly, "But when I was loading the books back into the truck, they..."

"Fell onto his arm. Bruised him up pretty bad." Kevin finished, smile turning to a sad frown.

Poptarts displayed a matching frown, then gave Arnold another small hug from his standing position. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Poptarts," Arnold said in a slightly annoyed tone, gently pushing the younger elder away. He gave a playful smile to make up for it, but then turned to face Kevin and make it clear the two needed to stop being interrupted.

Kevin was grateful for the gesture, already getting to work spraying the cuts with antibiotic.

"Ouch," Arnold murmured.

"Hush," Kevin replied, rolling his eyes. He got to work on some bandages.

"D'you guys need help?" Poptarts asked, rubbing his eyes sluggishly.

Kevin paused so he could look up and smile at Poptarts. "We're good, Elder Thomas. Better get back to bed, sleepyhead."

Poptarts ducked out of the way just in time as Kevin reached out to ruffle his hair. He passed a fake glare behind his shoulder, then proceeded to make his way to the door.

As he was about to leave, he suddenly turned around once more. "Are you guys sure? Elder Cunningham's arm looks so bad and I just--"

"We're fine, really." Kevin assured.

Arnold was about to practically beg Poptarts to leave when suddenly more footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.

All three elders' eyes went wide, none of them saying a word.

"Kevin," Arnold whispered, nervously shifting on his bed, "Y'don't think we..."

He didn't get to finish before a very tired, very disoriented looking Elder McKinley trodded into the room.

As usual when someone woke him up, he was using his signature unhappy-dad-glare, taking in the scene before him.

Poptarts swallowed hard and took a few steps back, as if trying to make himself less visible.

Kevin mentally noted how the room was definitely not built to accommodate four people.

He also noted how incredibly different Connor looked without the morning cup of coffee he'd recently started having (courtesy of Kevin's persuasion). His ginger hair was sticking out in at least ten different directions and his drooping eyes made his stern glare either adorably bad or even more intimidating. Possibly both.

"Hello, Elder McKinley," Kevin was the first to greet the district leader, flashing his smile.

"Elder Price." McKinley nodded, then turned his head. "And Elder Cunningham." His voice held a hint of relief as he said the second name.

Arnold, not noticing, looked down to avoid the leader's hard, judgemental gaze. Oh gosh, he was in so much trouble.

"And Poptarts," McKinley added, though he didn't bother to look at his companion. "At 10:15 PM. Does anyone want to explain?"

"Arnold is hurt," Poptarts blurted.

Immediately McKinely whirled around, his expression changing from stern to shocked. "What?" 

"Poptarts!" Kevin snapped, though he knew it couldn't be hidden for very long anyways.

"Really badly," Poptarts added, "On his arm."

" _Poptarts_ ," Arnold practically whined, much more exasperated than Kevin.

At this McKinley rushed to Elder Cunningham, who was still looking down.

"How bad is it?" He asked, his tone similar in fear to that of a mother who just heard her child was hit by a car.

"None. Not bad! It's not even there," Arnold replied. This went ignored by both his companion and McKinley.

Kevin gently lifted the bandage he hadn't tied off yet, and Connor seemed to pale a little (Not that he wasn't already incredibly pale, but it was noticeable going from one shade of pasty to another).

"It could be worse," Arnold offered with a very slight smile, looking up just a little. McKinley didn't humor him, still looking just as horrified.

"Elder Cunningham," McKinley said softly, still somehow shocked. "What on earth happened? Did someone hurt you? How did you get this? Where were you?"

Arnold was contemplating an excuse to stammer out, except it was _so_ late and he was too tired to make up a good lie. His brain kept going blank every time he opened his mouth. 

Not to mention, Kevin had gotten back to work on the bandages and he really couldn't focus with his best friend holding his arm so delicately with that concentrated expression and furrowed brow. His heart felt much better when he thought about how nice Kevin's fingers felt on his skin.

"Arnold?" Connor pleaded in an almost-whisper, cupping the elder's face.

"Are you crying?" Kevin asked, bewildered at how emotional their district leader had become. Was it the coffee deprivation?

Connor didn't answer, gazing sadly into Arnold's more-than-confused eyes until he eventually replied, "I'm okay. Get off, _mom_ ," Arnold said the last part with a playful chuckle, gently pushing Connor away.

However, Connor simply shook his head with the same expression and sat down on the bed beside Arnold, sniffling and only partially regaining his composure. "I expect a full explanation first thing tomorrow morning. Elder Price, did you do those bandages correctly?"

Kevin smiled a little at Arnold blushing and clearly trying not to shove Connor off the very crowded, tiny bed.

"I'm absolutely sure. Learned from the village doctor himself."

McKinley's stern expression was almost back, clearly calmed, but his eyes were still soft and filled with relief.

"Well, you can count on lots...lots of appropriate...consequences tomorrow. This is unacceptable. Atrocious." McKinley stood back up, straightened out his shirt, and cleared his throat.

"I'm glad you're safe, Elder." He said in a much subtler voice.

Arnold and Kevin both grinned up at him, before the district leader turned on his heel and faced Poptarts.

"Um, Connor, I didn't--" Poptarts' clearly awful explanation was almost immediately interrupted with his yawn. "I was gonna tell you in the morning." He finished, eyes drooping and small body rocking backwards slightly.

"Of course you were." Elder McKinely huffed, an amused flicker in his eyes. "Quarters. Now."

Poptarts scurried out the door, McKinley following closely and shutting the door behind them with a curt "Goodnight".

"Night!" Kevin called back, then looked at Arnold with a chuckle. 

Arnold wasn't laughing back. He was staring down intensely.

Staring down at Kevin's arm, that was still grasping his own.

A moment of silence passed before Kevin followed his companion's gaze. "D-does your arm hurt? Do I need to re-do it?"

Arnold opened his mouth to say something, but instead just shook his head.

Kevin tilted his head in confusion, gazing back expectantly for an explanation.

"Um-It really..." Arnold began, then mumbled something incomprehensible.

"What's wrong? Arnold?"

"Nice!" He gritted out, "It feels really nice and I don't want you to let go."

Kevin only looked more confused, before he realized what Arnold was talking about. Glancing down, he smiled fondly at his forearm grasping Arnold's. 

Before Kevin could respond, however, Arnold groaned loudly and drew away, collapsing onto the empty bed (which was actually Kevin's) and burying his blushing face into a pillow.

"I'm sorry. I'm stupid. Ignore that." He said, voice muffled.

Kevin frowned, both out of concern and discontent at Arnold stealing his bed. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know. I'm stupid." Arnold repeated.

"Quit beating yourself up tonight, buddy. Someone obviously already did that for you." Kevin gestured to his companion's bandages arm.

"Too soon," Arnold grumbled, but reluctantly pulled himself up. "Let's just go to bed."

Arnold moved past Kevin to get to his own bed, mentally scolding himself for being so forward in the process.

"Arnold," Kevin said softly, an edge of pleading to his voice.

"Goodnight best friend," was all the shorter man said in reply, though his own voice was completely deadpan. 

Kevin watched as Arnold shut off the light and climbed into bed, shoulders hunched and body visibly tense.

"G'night pal," Kevin whispered with a smile, playfully patting Arnold on the back.

Arnold jerked away sharply from Kevin's touch. 

Kevin looked away, because he felt like he'd just watched something he shouldn't have. He felt ashamed, and maybe even rejected in a span of a few seconds. Of course, he shouldn't feel rejected, because it's not like he should _always_ expect Arnold to be his cuddly self. People have boundaries. Arnold probably has them somewhere, too, but that would be the first time Kevin had considered it.

The word "sorry" very nearly escaped his lips, unsure how to articulate his emotions, but Arnold didn't seem in the responsive mood. So Kevin simply lied down in his own bed and tried to calm the uncomfortable feelings.

Disturbance of his usual daily (and night time) routine seemed to be more troubling than he'd thought, though, because he found himself still wide awake twenty minutes later, staring at the ceiling and still worrying.

Which was probably why he hasn't noticed that his companion's snoring was completely absent from the room.

He did, however, notice when said companion rolled over very loudly to face him. (Was it loud? It seemed loud. Maybe everything else was quiet.)

"Kevin," Arnold whispered.

"Arnold? What are you doing up?" Kevin asked innocently.

"What are _you_ doing up?"

"I asked you first." Kevin replied childishly, before blushing and correcting himself. "But I was...y'know, thinking."

"Me too." Mumbled Arnold, before casually scooting closer. "I was thinking about your blanket."

Kevin arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"This." Arnold replied, simultaneously snatching the blanket off Kevin's body before rolling further away.

"Hey!" Kevin protested in the loudest whisper he could manage, "Arnold!"

Arnold had already made use of the stolen blanket though, wrapped around his body atop the other. "Can't hear you. Sleeping." The boy muttered into his pillow.

"Yeah right." Kevin huffed and leaned forward, arms gripping his own blanket tightly. "Give it back."

Arnold shook his head, although he didn't shy away from his companion's touch this time.

Kevin's eyes narrowed as he realized a perfect way to either 1) get his blanket back, or 2) get Arnold to stop being so weird about touching tonight.

He repositioned his hands strategically on the edges of the blanket, earning a confused hum from Cunningham. Then, with a surprisingly strong pull, Kevin yanked the blanket out from underneath Arnold.

Well, sort of. Half the blanket was still wrapped around Arnold, but Kevin pulling had unintentionally yanked him closer too, leaving more blanket for Kevin.

"Will you give it back now?" Kevin whispered with a grin, expecting Arnold to immediately jerk away. After all, their chests were nearly pressed against each other's and faces in very close proximity. 

However, Arnold simply stared back at Kevin's playful brown eyes for a full five seconds. He then dove at his companion's chest with a hug, face burying itself in Kevin's neck.

Kevin grunted both from the impact and out of surprise. "Oh. Hey buddy." He stammered.

Arnold, despite being latched tightly around Kevin's torso, still managed a very joyful sounding belly laugh.

Kevin couldn't help but join in, his hands somehow finding their way to the shorter man's curly hair and beginning to comb through.

"Is this okay?" Arnold quietly asked once he'd let out his relieved laugh. He sounded genuinely concerned.

"'Course it is," Kevin replied through a yawn, still stroking Arnold's hair. "We've done it like, a billion times."

"Not in bed," Arnold argued, blushing.

Kevin just shrugged in response, hugging his companion tighter. 

"And not for this long." The younger boy added, still sounding just as worried. 

"It's okay with me if it's okay with you." Kevin replied, loosening his grip just in case.

"It totally is!" Arnold exclaimed, happily squeezing around Kevin's middle.

The older man thought of giving a gentle reminder that he couldn't breathe very well when Arnold did that, but he could feel the pure joy and warmth radiating off his companion so strongly he decided against it.

When someone finally came to wake them up in the morning (they slept in an hour late), the two were still intertwined, Kevin's fingers in Arnold's hair and Arnold's face nestled against Kevin's collarbone.

**Author's Note:**

> This ship will have more content if I have to write it all myself
> 
> (I was gonna gift this to eldercunningbro and Melodiva but in hindsight it's definitely not even close to being good enough to do that and I'm really shy but this is 1000% inspired by them)  
> EDIT: I did it because I owe both of them my life


End file.
